page_title: Helsinki Grand Prix
section_title: Best athlete prize
hierarchical_section_title: Helsinki Grand Prix / Best athlete prize
caption_attribution_description: Suomi: Keihäänheiton palkintojenjako 4. maailmankisoissa Helsingissä 30.6.1965. Vasemmalta Terje Pedersen (Norja), Jorma Kinnunen (Suomi), Gergely Kulcsar (Unkari).
context_page_description: The Helsinki Grand Prix was an annual one-day outdoor track and field meeting held at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in Helsinki, Finland. Established in 1959, it was originally organised by a local athletics club, Helsingin Kisa-Veikot. It continued in this format, with Apu magazine a key sponsor, for nearly three decades. In 1987, HKV came to an agreement where the Finnish Amateur Athletic Association took on the operating costs of the competition. The Finnish Association ceased this arrangement in 1992, causing the cancellation of the 1993 meeting due to financial difficulties.
  Following the successful hosting the 1995 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, the meeting was rebooted and incorporated into the annual IAAF Grand Prix series upon that competition's founding in 1998. It continued to be a high level meeting for international athletes, and was again included the top bracket upon the creation of the IAAF World Athletics Tour in 2005. During this period it had title sponsors and was known as the Ericsson Grand Prix, Asics Grand Prix and GE Money Grand Prix. However, the 2006 meeting proved to be its last and the meeting folded in 2007.
context_section_description: At each competition, the best athlete of the meet would be presented with a sculpted glass prize.
  1959 Gert Potgieter – 400 metres hurdles
  1961 Jay Silvester – discus throw
  1963 Pentti Eskola – long jump
  1965 Ron Clarke – 5000 metres
  1967 Judy Pollock – 800 metres
  1969 Jorma Kinnunen – javelin
  1971 Ralph Mann – 400 metres hurdles
  1973 Ben Jipcho – 3000 metres steeplechase
  1975 Bronisław Malinowski – 3000 metres steeplechase
  1976 Seppo Hovinen – javelin
  1977 Samson Kimobwa – 3000 metres steeplechase
  1978 Henry Rono – 3000 metres steeplechase
  1979 Renaldo Nehemiah – 110 metres hurdles
  1980 Mac Wilkins – discus throw
  1981 Brian Oldfield – shot put
  1982 Tiina Lillak – javelin
  1983 Arto Bryggare – 110 metres hurdles
  1984 Igor Nikulin – hammer throw
  1985 Willie Banks – triple jump
  1986 Tom Petranoff – javelin
  1987 Saïd Aouita – mile run
  1988 Oleg Protsenko – triple jump
  1989 Salvatore Antibo – 10 000 metres
  1990 Hollis Conway – high jump
  1991 Noureddine Morceli – 1 500 metres
  1992 Seppo Räty – javelin
  1994 Merlene Ottey – 100 metres
  1995 Geir Moen – 200 metres
  1996 Frankie Fredericks – 100 metres
  1997 Trine Hattestad – javelin
  1998 Haile Gebrselassie – 5000 metres
  1999 Marion Jones – 200 metres
caption: Jorma Kinnunen on the javelin podium at the 1965 meeting
exif: {}